Grimsel 'Spittallamm' dam was finished in 1932 to gain power from the river Aare which has it's source in the Aare glaciers coming down from the more than 4000m high bernese alps. Finsteraarhorn 4274m, Lauteraarhorn 4042m and Oberaarhorn 3637m each have their corresponding glacier.

These glaciers are located only few kilometers west - remains from the huge ice age glaciers that formed this landscape by rounding and polishing the granite rocks. They must have been about thousand meters thick considering only the jagged summits protruded the ice.

There are plans for the height of the dam to be raised, submerging a unique flora and fauna and some famous climbing routes in the granite slabs.